Dental Implants Beaverton

Initial Dental Implant Consultation

At your initial consultation, we’ll discuss whether dental implants are the right choice for replacing your missing teeth. We’ll perform a thorough evaluation of your mouth and jaw with the help of the latest diagnostic technology. If we find that you are a viable candidate for dental implants, we will walk you through what the rest of the process will look like. Note that in some cases, bone grafting and other preliminary treatments may be required before dental implants can be placed. 

Dental Implant Surgery

Your dental implant surgery will be handled by a highly trained local specialist. Step one of the procedure is to apply a local anesthetic to numb your mouth. After that, the gums are opened so that the specialist can work with the jawbone. A predetermined number of implant posts will be carefully inserted into the jaw in specific locations at carefully chosen angles. After the gum tissue has been sutured shut, small caps will be placed on the implant posts. These caps help the gums maintain their proper shape while they heal.

Dental Implant Osseointegration & Abutment

Osseointegration allows your dental implant posts to fuse with the jawbone, which is critical for their long-term success. Depending on a number of factors (such as the number of implant posts placed), osseointegration can take anywhere between three and six months.

After osseointegration comes abutment placement. An abutment is a small connector piece that is attached to the implant posts. Its purpose is to keep a crown, bridge, or denture anchored in place so that it can act as your replacement teeth. Once the abutments have been placed, we will wait until your mouth has fully healed before moving on to the last stage of the dental implant process.

Delivery of Dental Implant Restoration(s)

Based on careful impressions of your mouth, a lifelike prosthesis will be designed. Each dental implant prosthesis provided by our team is carefully personalized in order to ensure that it looks natural and fits comfortably.

The completed prosthesis is attached to your implant posts during a final appointment at our office. We’ll perform a last-minute check to make sure that everything looks good. Once that’s done, you’ll be ready to start enjoying the full benefits of your newly completed smile!

Day-to-Day Benefits

Let’s start with the day-to-day benefits of dental implants:

• Restored Bite Force – Since dental implants are secured to your jawbone and topped with a high-quality restoration, they can stand up to almost any food. So, you can say goodbye to the days of eating applesauce, plain yogurt, and other extremely soft foods on repeat.
• Improved Communication – Following tooth loss, have you had trouble enunciating clearly? If so, you’ll be happy to hear that dental implants can help restore your normal speaking patterns, too!
• Lifelike Look and Feel – Whether you’re missing one tooth or an entire arch of teeth, you won’t have to worry about dental implants drawing unwanted attention to your smile moving forward. After all, the restoration secured on top will be custom-made with your dental needs and aesthetic goals in mind to ensure it looks as lifelike as it feels.

Health Benefits

In addition to boosting your self-esteem, bite strength, and chewing patterns, dental implants:

• Protect Your Remaining Natural Teeth – Unlike dental bridges, dental implants don’t require the teeth surrounding the gap to be altered. Instead, the implant post is inserted directly into the open space. Then, after osseointegration has taken place, we can secure a custom restoration on top with an abutment.
• Prevent Dental Drift – Another benefit of dental implants in Beaverton: they help preserve the alignment of your bite. This is crucial because tooth loss can cause the teeth surrounding the gap to gradually drift out of place (a phenomenon known as “dental drift”).
• Are Easy to Maintain – While other tooth-replacement solutions need ongoing maintenance, dental implants can be kept in pristine condition with the same best practices that you use to care for your natural teeth (i.e., brushing twice a day, flossing consistently, scheduling a dental cleaning every six months).

Long-Term Benefits

Dental implants are also considered the gold standard in tooth replacement because they:

• Have a High Success Rate – Did you know that dental implants have a success rate of over 95% for non-smoking patients? It’s true! If we determine that you’re a good candidate, we will also discuss what you can do to prevent implant failure, like committing to a solid oral hygiene regimen at home.
• Are Long Lasting – With proper care and maintenance, dental implants have the potential to last for over 30 years.
• Help Prevent Bone Loss – While dental bridges rest against the surrounding teeth and dentures rest against the gums, dental implants get their support from the jawbone. This helps prevent bone loss throughout the years and, in turn, preserve your youthful face shape.

After reading through the above benefits, are you interested in finding out if you’re a good candidate for dental implants? If so, take the next step: give us a call.

Who Is a Good Candidate for Dental Implants?

During your consultation with Dr. Appelhans, she will review your dental and medical history, take a look at your X-rays, complete a visual exam, and ask you a few questions about your habits. That way, she can determine:

• If your jawbone is strong enough to support dental implants
• If your gums and any remaining teeth you have are healthy
• If tooth extractions or any other preliminary treatments are needed
• If you’re committed to healthy habits, like flossing consistently
• If you’re willing to break bad habits, like smoking

Missing One Tooth

If you are missing only one tooth, we have good news: we can replace both the root and crown with a dental implant. The first step is inserting the implant post into your jawbone and allowing time for the two to fuse together. Once that has happened, we can secure a custom dental crown on top with an abutment. The last step is reviewing how to take care of it so it lasts for 30+ years, like brushing, flossing, and rinsing with mouthwash consistently.

Missing Multiple Teeth

Are you missing several teeth consecutively? If so, a traditional dental bridge is no longer your only option. If you’re a good candidate for dental implants, then we can place one on each side of the gap and secure a custom bridge on top. Since the restoration is self-supporting, the healthy teeth on each side don’t need to be altered. Plus, the strength comes from your jawbone, which results in increased stability.

Missing All Teeth

If you don’t have any of your natural teeth left, that’s okay – dental implants are still an option. If we decide together that it’s the best one for you, then we will place 4-6 dental implants strategically throughout the arch. Then, we will secure a custom denture on top. Since yours will be custom-made with your unique facial structure, dental needs, and aesthetic goals in mind, it will look and feel extremely natural.

Make Oral Hygiene a Priority

Your prosthetics aren’t made of the same organic materials as your enamel, so thankfully, they cannot develop cavities. However, bacteria in your mouth can penetrate the site and cause disease, such as peri-implantitis, the leading cause of failure.

This can be avoided by brushing twice daily at home, then flossing around your teeth and implant cautiously so you don’t accidentally damage its protective seal.

Eat a Healthy Diet

Dental implants are the only replacement teeth that are placed in your jaw and fuse with the bone, which can return up to 80% or more of your original bite force. As a result, they don’t require as many dietary restrictions as dentures or bridges.

That means you can enjoy a wider variety of wholesome foods to support your oral and overall health. For instance, many citrus fruits and leafy greens that require sufficient chewing are high in vitamin C to support your connective tissues. And different dairy products, like milk, cheese, and yogurt, are rich in calcium for strong teeth and bones.

Break Bad Habits

Smokers are significantly more likely to experience implant failure because tobacco products contain nicotine, which functions as a vasoconstrictor in the body. It reduces blood oxygen levels and flow, so your systems are unable to deliver essential nutrients or infection-fighting cells to your mouth during recovery from oral surgery.

You should also try not to use your teeth to open bottles, mail, or other packaging, as this can damage your restoration or cause it to become unstable or dislodged while the site heals.

Protect Your Dental Implants

Athletes and others who participate in close-contact activities are prone to sustaining injuries that can damage or dislodge their teeth, including their implant(s). Fortunately, this can be avoided by wearing a custom-fit mouthguard to help shield your smile if you take a blow to the face.

Our team in Beaverton can also provide nightguards to prevent bruxism, also known as teeth grinding, which sometimes occurs subconsciously at night and can place excessive pressure on your new tooth, causing it to fail.

Schedule Regular Dental Checkups

Seeing Dr. Appelhans every six months for a routine examination and professional cleaning allows our team to monitor your dental condition, so we can catch and treat any areas of concern, such as a destabilized dental implant, before they become more problematic.